How do we dispel Untruths in Horse Teaching?

For years many of us were taught that compliance from the horse equals respect. Staying out of our space equals respect. Doing as we command is respect.

We were taught that the shut down horse with no outwardly expressed opinions was quiet and well trained and well mannered. And ideal.

We were taught that obedience was desired. Taught in fact that we needed obedience for safety.

Needed. Safety. That almost allows us to not accept any alternatives.

We were taught pecking order and dominance theory. Long since dis-proved but still doing the rounds

Along came ‘Natural Horsemanship’ and ‘shifting the other horses feet’ Really??

Someone got their ‘natural’ completely wrong.

A few episodes of seeing some poorly housed horses ‘resource guarding’ by chasing another horse away from their feed, and proof was right there in front of them.

Dominant horse later downgraded in terminology, to ‘lead mare’. Still un-truth, sounds better

Easy for an older mare to keep a yearling away from her food – and ‘snap’ there is that lead mare, moving his feet, chasing him away until he ‘apologises’ and wants to come back to the fold. Well of course he does - he's a herd animal!

Some justification for round-penning, or 'join-up', and I won’t add the ‘respect’ word here! Round penning works firstly by eliciting the fear response until the horse moves away from the aversive, then applying the release (or relief) at the moment the horse looks at you. Then moves toward you, then follows you. Classic R-

Herd leader. Lead mare, join up? Try a remote controlled car!!

https://listentoyourhorse.com/join-up-and-round-pen.../

The whole ‘moving the feet’ proof never came from an equine ethologist – they don’t appear to have as many disciples as natural horsemanship clinicians with cult followings sadly. Only listened to by a small minority, Truth, but not enough hype.

And those clinicians thought they had the answer, so never researched to see.

Often men tangled in control, with borderline misogynist disorder. Force, not consent

Horses are there to be controlled. A threat to manliness if not controlled. Some even suggesting women will spoil horses, and let them get away with things.

Showing care and empathy not on the table then?

Where did it all begin?

Somewhere – the first person mis-interpreted, or mis-translated, an agonistic probably resource guarding display by a horse, and gave it the wrong label. Told others what their assumption looked like, and what they thought it meant.

Those others heard the explanation, saw the behaviour, and agreed.

The older mare chasing a smaller horse away from her hay. Looked like a boss mare asserting superiority. Really? she was just trying to ensure she got enough to eat.

But- what you see matches the pre-explained description, so it must be right.

Too many shares and too many saying yes I can see that – how does the ethologist then say but horses in the wild don’t do that?

Once you believe, it is hard to see a different picture. When too many believe, it is hard to change the teaching, even when it is wrong.

Somewhere the horse was forgotten.

His nature not studied for itself, but human feelings and interpretation from human culture applied. WE have bosses, and do what they say. Horses must be the same.

Somewhere the behaviour from a different species was extrapolated to equines. The descriptions explained to match the idea. Then it grew. Cancerous.

How do we change what has been ‘truth’ for too long, but isn’t?

Written By Vicki Conroy of the PPGA Equine Sub-Committee